Nissan Navara Pro PHEV confirmed for Australia – differs from China’s Frontier Pro; 2.0T, 8AT instead of 1.5T, 4DHT

Nissan Australia has confirmed it will launch its first plug-in hybrid and electrified ute when the Navara Pro Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV) joins the local line-up in 2027. In a release, the company said Australia and New Zealand are set to become the first right-hand drive markets to offer the Navara PHEV – the Philippines will also get the model but in left-hand drive form.

As reported previously, the Navara PHEV is the alternate name of the Frontier Pro sold in China, which shares a lot in common with the Dongfeng Z9 as part of a joint venture between both companies.

However, the version of the Oceania markets differs from the one in China in terms of powertrain. Where the Frontier Pro’s PHEV powertrain is based around a 1.5 litre turbocharged inline-four petrol engine, the Navara PHEV gets a higher-displacement 2.0 litre mill, also turbocharged.

This is paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission that has an integrated electric motor to feed drive through a four-wheel drive system. The preliminary total system output for this setup is 408 PS (402 hp or 300 kW) and 800 Nm of torque.

As for the Frontier Pro, its 143 PS (141 hp or 105 kW)/220 Nm engine is augmented by a 212 PS (210 hp or 156 kW)/350 Nm electric motor and mated to a four-speed dedicated hybrid transmission (DHT) to make 435 PS (429 hp or 320 kW) and 800 Nm.

According to Nissan, the eight-sped auto “provides broad versatility, including low-range crawling capability for demanding off-road conditions and low-rpm cruising at highway speeds for relaxed and efficient long-distance driving.”

Drivers will have four drive modes (Eco, Standard, Sport and Slippery) as well as seven terrain modes (Standard, Deep Snow, Mud, Sand, Rock, Wading and Expert) to choose from, each adjusting the powertrain, steering and traction-control mapping. This powertrain will offer approximately 1,000 kg of payload and a braked towing capacity of 3,500 kg.

No details on the battery in the PHEV system of the Australian model, but should be different from the one in the Frontier Pro, which features a 33-kWh nickel manganese cobalt (NMC) unit for 131 km of electric-only range and a combined driving range of 1,050 km following the NEDC standard. A vehicle-to-load (V2L) system will be available and is useful on job sites.

Nissan Australia says the Navara Pro PHEV coming to the region is not an off-the-shelf global specification, with the engine and transmission pairing specifically chosen to meet local market requirements. As such, the company is extensively testing and validating the ute’s mechanical front, rear and combined differential-lock configurations, alongside different suspension and tyres to ensure the right fit.

“Thousands of kilometres of local development testing have helped Nissan assess the vehicle across real-world conditions, while extensive collaboration between Nissan teams in Australia, Japan and China has allowed local insights to be fed into the vehicle’s development,” the company stated. To that end, the PHEV ute will be backed by a 10-year/300,000-km extended warranty when it goes on sale next year.